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Ecuador joins UNESCO campaign to prevent illicit trafficking of cultural goods
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Ecuador joins UNESCO campaign to prevent illicit trafficking of cultural goods

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Ecuador joined a UNESCO campaign to prevent the illicit trafficking of cultural goods.
  • The campaign aims to raise public awareness about the consequences of this crime and will be promoted in public spaces, especially at ports and international entry/exit points.
  • Ecuador has identified about 1,400 stolen cultural items and recovered nearly 6,500 through repatriation efforts.

Ecuador has officially joined UNESCO's regional campaign to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural goods, a move aimed at increasing public awareness regarding the severe consequences of this crime. The initiative, already underway in Latin America and the Caribbean, will extend across Ecuador, with a particular focus on national ports and international transit points.

The campaign involves a coordinated digital communication strategy. This collaboration includes the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture, the Vice-Ministry of Culture and Heritage, the National Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC), UNESCO, and the National Technical Committee against the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods. Ecuador, a signatory to the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, has prioritized this fight as a state policy since 2007, establishing inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms.

According to the Ministry of Education, the INPC has identified approximately 1,400 cultural items as stolen and issues continuous alerts for their recovery. Furthermore, Ecuador has successfully repatriated nearly 6,500 heritage items. The announcement coincided with the presentation of the Spanish version of UNESCO's Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Goods, an international platform designed to highlight the impact of looting and illegal trade, and to promote the global protection and recovery of cultural heritage. Ecuador contributes seven reported stolen items to this museum.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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